The Lancea Sanctum
Introduction History in the Southland Early Dominance The Lancea Sanctum was the first Covenant to seize power of Los Angeles. It's members were even the first Kindred to establish a presence in Los Angeles. A couple of mortals by the name of, Pedro Cambon and Angel Somera, founded the San Gabrial Mission in 1771. Their mission was little more than a trading post for Spanish colonists, soldiers, and merchants moving further north or returning to more settled lands in Mexico. By 1777 the mission had grown into a small town christened, El Pueblo, to meet these needs. The first Indians were baptized here at this time. This religious foundation, constructed a very suitable environment for the first Sanctified to come along on the coattails of their mortal counterparts. The history of the Kindred within Los Angeles is also believed to have begun at this time. In 1782 a Spanish missionary named Father Junipero Serra arrived in El Pueblo. With him came the first missionaries of the Lancea Sanctum. Father Serra was appalled by what he found, condemning the moral conditions and immoral habits of the residence, and launched a campaign against them, though his efforts were largely ignored. The Sanctified conducted a similar campaign, testing the residents and culling sinners from the herd. And yet despite this, or perhaps because of it, Los Angeles continued to grow and prosper, especially when the Mexican government began to issue land grants in California, establishing the first ranchos in the region. The era between 1782 and 1842 was probably the calmest sixty years the city had ever, and probably would ever know. Los Angeles continued to grow as more and more ranchers and farmers made their homes here. Merchants and traders continued to push north, ships began to anchor in its harbors, and the arrival of oranges in 1804 created a new, booming industry. Despite two floods in 1811 and 1815 and an Indian revolt in 1810 that followed the damming of the Los Angeles River, the future looked bright. A city council was established in 1812, a school was built in 1817 (though it failed almost immediately), and Santa Monica Bay was becoming a port of call for foreign merchants. But signs that times were changing would not be long in coming. During the early 1800s Los Angeles experienced an exponential growth in industry and even the Sanctified found it hard not to glorify in this newfound wealth and the power that came with it. Their hold on Los Angeles, and through it Southern California, was strong. In fact, the Lancea’s leader in L.A., Antonio Huarez, was able to claim the title of Archbishop in 1844, making him the undisputed master of all Kindred within L.A. proper. The Invictus Muscles In Cattle and oranges and gold were amongst the resources that made Los Angeles what it is today. And around the mid-1800s the Invictus began to catch word of a few of their peers gaining a substantial amount of power in the fledgeling city. Around this time it is believe they sent scouts to cultivate the Invictus prescence in the city. THis would not bode well with the Invictus, as soontheir power would be questioned in the Southland. As American screamed of MAnifest Destiny, a wave of American Kindred challenged the Kindred of New Spain. It was not a control that they were willing to surrender lightly, especially to these arrogant American vampires. The First Estate had other plans, however, and both the will and the means to implement them. As the Sanctified drew upon, and strengthened, their connections to leaders and religious figures within the Spanish speaking community, the Invictus continued to strengthen its grip on the power structure, co-opting businessmen and lawmakers. Using this power, they pushed Sanctified retainers and pawns from power, culminating in the Land Act of 1852, in which all of the remaining old land grants around Los Angeles were wrested from the original ranchero families and given to American families. It is a testament to this silent warfare, and the tensions that both sides tried to stir up, that L.A.’s murder rate climbed dramatically in 1854 and that numerous protests, marches, riots, and guerrilla battles were conducted by former Mexican citizens. The Winds of Change Blow With their valuable assets rapidly removed, the entire conflict proved to be academic for the Sanctified. By 1876, with the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Pico Canyon Oil Field, Californian wealth and American industrial might had won the night for the First Estate. Los Angeles was now tied to American interests and Invictus-backed secularization, anti-Catholicism, and racism shattered Sanctified praxis. While still a force to be reckoned with, the Lance would take many years to rebuild its support base. By 1879 Archbishop Huarez was forced from power, and a new Prince in the form of Alexander Hunt, and Invictus Elder with the help of his forebears, sat on the throne of L.A Between 1880 and 1976, the Invictus strengthened its grip on the city through control of key industries and political figures. But they could not hold on forever. And as the city changed it "outgrew" the Invictus which would soon become unstable. Their power was nearly unassailable, the Invictus realized that it could not maintain this position forever. The Sanctified were rebuilding their base of operations, and the borders were growing rapidly, and were becoming a very real threat to the Invicti. Therefore, the First Estate did something almost unprecedented. It actively aided other covenants in establishing themselves in the city. Certainly they maneuvered the others into weaker positions, but the Invictus cannily realized that with only a bit of manipulation it could force both the Circle of the Crone and the Ordo Dracul in the late 1880s, into opposition with the Sanctified. It worked. However, for the brief moment that Los Angeles’ borders were fully open, the Carthian Movement slipped quietly in the door. And like unwelcome guests, they refused to leave. Unlike the other covenants, which the Invictus tried to cultivate as allies or cat’s paws, the Carthians were never officially welcome in the city. Barred from Court and isolated from most centers of power, they were forced to get creative in order to survive. Fortunately, being creative is something that the Carthians do very well. A number of forward-thinking ancillae and ambitious neonates began to sink resources into a new and exciting business: the making of motion pictures. This is where the Carthian Movement prospered. Seen as little more than a fad by most Kindred, and many kine, few really expected this ploy to work, which is probably the only reason First Estate did not interfere. After 1914, the Carthians laughed last and best. They’ve been laughing ever since, when they weren't fighting each other. With access to both wealth and power, not to mention powerful tools of propaganda, the Carthians became an established power within the city. At the time few worried what the rabble might do with this newfound power, but the dynamic of Los Angeles had been changed for all time, as events would later prove. During the Wars The Depression was a quiet time for the LAncea Sanctum as most of the elders died out and there were few, save for a handful of devout followers, everyone had thought they the Church had left the Southland. Little did they know what was in store for the furture. The Second World War would turn things around for the Church once again In a city that had known so much turmoil and tension in the past, Los Angeles seemed more than ready to leave behind decades of depression and war. Industry was booming, wages were rising, and citizens seemed ready to enjoy the fruits of their labors. But even as chaos was calming in the mortal world, tensions within Kindred society were polarizing. Invictus control was still absolute, but cracks were beginning to appear. The First Estate had maintained its control by keeping the other covenants weak and divided, but as the “Golden Age” of the 1950s rolled on things were changing. The Sanctified had recovered their power base, the Dragons and the Acolytes were becoming tired of Invictus games, and the Carthians were growing ever stronger as they were unified by what some would say a Great Leader. Tensions grew so high that some even suggested that Invictus plants fanned the anti-Communist attacks on the film industry in order to break the Carthian hold on Hollywood. Things began to come to a head in the 1960s as protest and reform became the words of the day. Even Kindred far from the center could feel that pressure was building, just waiting for the right moment to explode. All through the sixties and early seventies a series of hidden clashes were fought between the vampire cliques of the city. The 1961 Bel Air-Brentwood Fire was blamed on Carthian agitators attempting to flush out Invictus Kindred. The Watts Riots of 1965-66 were also blamed on Carthian Kindred, although the area is actually within the Ordo Dracul’s sphere of influence. A third riot in East L.A. in 1970 (a result of the anti-Vietnam Chicano Moratorium March) was the last major civil disturbance blamed on the Carthians. But if those years had been bad, L.A. hadn’t seen anything yet. In 1976 everything finally exploded, in some cases literally. In that year the old Prince, who had led the Invictus since the 1880s, fell into torpor. For a brief instant, the iron grip of the First State faltered; it was an opportunity that no one could pass up. In the early evening hours of July 4th, as citizens across America were celebrating their nation’s 200th birthday, Carthian ghouls infiltrated the Los Angeles Harbor at San Pedro and set fire to an oil tanker. The resulting explosion killed five and successfully drew the attention of all L.A. to the waterfront. In the long shadows of the fire, a devil’s alliance of the Carthian Movement and Ordo Dracul made their move. All through the night, as eyes were averted, blood and vitae flowed freely as Invictus Kindred were plucked from their ivory towers and left staked for the sun. When the dust settled, the Invictus had been broken and Carthian masters sat on the throne of the City of Angels. Even now, over thirty years since the infamous Coup of ’76, the chaos has not fully faded. The Carthian/Dragon alliance has held firm despite repeated challenges, and the Invictus has begun to claw its way back, burning with rage. Sanctified Kindred continue to press for their lost power and the Acolytes grow agitated as repeated attempts at alliance with the Carthians have been rebuffed. Tensions grow within and between the covenants as L.A. continues to expand, a hidden powder keg just waiting for the right spark. Welcome to Los Angeles, neonate; please watch your step. Add category The Sanctified of Los Angeles Archbishop - Marcus Puente